Instagram is the birthplace of all sorts of weird trends, especially when it comes to the beauty space. In early April, makeup artist Stella Sironen announced she would be starting a new eyebrow shape that resembles a literal bird feather. A few days later, however, she clarified that she was joking about making the unique look an actual trend. At that point though, she decided to just run with it.

Feather brows trend is how I found out about Stella Sironen, a makeup artist from Helsinki, Finland. She likes glitter, fine lines and anything in the colours of a rainbow. As you are aware, I love colours two. I quickly felt a connection with Stella and decided to interview her for my blog. Today she is telling you all about her career and, of course, all the truth about the newest beauty trend – feather eyebrows. Enjoy!

Is being a makeup artist your occupation or is it more of a hobby?

Stella Sironen: It is my occupation, I am a full-time MAC makeup artist and I do my own projects on my free time.

Where did you study this skill?

Stella Sironen: I am a licenced beauty therapist but a self-taught makeup artist. I learned makeup through Youtube videos and just trying out things on my own face with my mum’s makeup when I was 11.

Have you ever participated in makeup competitions?

Stella Sironen: Yes, I took part in the Finnish bodypainting championships in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2013 I took the second place! I also won a makeup competition hosted by Make Up Store in my hometown Oulu in 2014.

What are your sources of inspiration?

Stella Sironen: I get inspired by things that I see in my day-to-day life, things that my friends and family point out and just my imagination. I love combining opposite elements, such as a really blended and smooth texture with something really gritty and harsh and the usage of complimentary colours. Colours will never stop inspiring me!

Do you apply glitter and rainbow colour to your everyday makeup or is only for special occasions?

Stella Sironen: I do create weird and unconventional looks on myself! Especially when I’m working I love to inspire my clients with my own looks. What I love the most about wearing makeup is that I can actually be 100% different looking every day. I do everything from really basic nude insta-glam to crazy rainbows and graphic liners and I don’t actually think there’s any look I would never wear. I don’t particularly enjoy pink lipstick on myself, but that’s the only no-no I could come up with.

Being from the quite reserved country do you feel that you stand out from the crowd?

Stella Sironen: I live in Helsinki in an area with a lot of hipsters, artists and weirdos so I don’t even think I stand out that much! Yesterday I was wearing a Coachella-inspired facepainting and I got some looks at the subway though.

Do Finnish find you peculiar or is your look considered a norm?

Stella Sironen: Some probably do yes, but I feel like I’ve either gotten used to it or Helsinki just has quite a variety of people with different styles so nobody really cares!

What do you think will be a makeup trend in the next few seasons/years?

Stella Sironen: I know I’m probably going to get hate for saying this, but I truly hope that we are going to get rid of the super matte liquid lipstick trend and go towards juicy, moisturised and fresh lip looks. It seems like the dewy and glowy skin is not going anywhere and I’m happy about that! Something that I’ve also noticed is duochrome colours in eyeshadows, highlighters, blushes and lipglosses and I think the color-shifting trend is super cool!

FEATHER BROWS TREND

How did you come up with the feather brow idea? Were you inspired by something in particular? Do you think this trend will develop and grow and we will start seeing girls wearing feather brows?

Stella Sironen: Feather brows were created by accident! I was hanging out at my friend Leevi’s place on a Sunday night and he was randomly brushing my eyebrows. All the sudden he started laughing and I opened my front camera just to see that he had created a middle part on my brows! We laughed for a solid two hours and did the look properly with a hair wax on both of our brows. I decided to do the look on my Insta and pair it with a nice eye makeup and well… It blew up. I don’t think we are going to see that many feather brows in real life but maybe for the festival season, fashion editorials and runways.

Do you think social media is beneficial for growing your brand? Do you find jobs by being ‘online’?

Stella Sironen: Absolutely! I have gotten inquiries from clients and brand through my Instagram! It’s also a really easy way to showcase your talent to someone who doesn’t know you or your work at all.

What part of the face or body do you like to work on the most?

Stella Sironen: Definitely eyes! Eyes come in so many different colours, shapes and sizes and I always get the most creative when working on someone’s eyes.

You might also like to check my Makeup column to get some insights on newest makeup trends and my favourite products that I recommend. Also, don’t forget to check the Interview Column. This column talks about the variety of jobs in UK’s fashion and beauty industries. In Fashion and Beauty Interviews we try to show different angles of those glamorous industries. On one hand, Yukova interviews fashion designers. So that you can understand what stands behind each collection.